Desktop based computing has emerged as the de facto mode of delivering computing replacing mainframe computing. Users have to purchase expensive personal computers and or laptop computers to meet their computing needs. With changes in the processor speed or with the availability of newer programs and operating systems, users are forced to replace their desktop based personal computers and laptop computers every few years. For corporations, management of desktop computers has become the second biggest expense after employee payroll. The purchase price of a desktop computer is only a fraction of the total cost of supporting desktop based systems over their short life span of 24 to 36 months. In addition to mounting costs, desktop based computing also creates huge loss of productivity. Every user of desktop computer is acutely aware of the painful downtime they have to endure when their system fails. Key applications such as database applications are delivered from centralized servers, which traditionally are powerful desktop computers. They typically have the same or a little longer life span than that of desktop computers. Maintenance and management costs of centralized servers can be an order of magnitude higher than desktop computers. A majority of server based applications have a client component, which once again needs to be run on a desktop computer. Those client-server applications that eliminated the client component, and can now be accessed over the Internet, still generally are accessed by using either a desktop based personal computer or a laptop computer.
For mobile users, laptop computers to a certain extent have eased the problem of accessing information when traveling. But not all people have laptops. Those users who have laptops, security of their information becomes a concern. Even the physical security of laptop computers is an issue. They can be easily lost, stolen or broken. But the biggest concern of laptop computer users is the speed by which they access server based applications and data, when away from their office locations. As user programs become more sophisticated and bulky, laptop users, when away from their offices are paralyzed by slow access speeds. Today attachments of over 1 megabyte are commonplace and are growing in size.
Computing to this day remains elusive from a vast number of people. Not everyone can afford a desktop system. Even the richest school districts cannot provide a computer to every student. In its present form, the usage of desktop computers may never reach the ubiquitous penetration of that of telephone service. One vastly overlooked aspect of desktop based computing is the wastage of resources. At all times, only a fraction of personal computer and laptop computer processor and other key resources are utilized. And when these systems are turned off, none of the capabilities are utilized. Such colossal waste of permanently dedicated resources to one individual serves no purpose. Recycling of used desktop and laptop computers is another big problem. Unwanted desktop and laptop computers have already become a major environmental threat.
Recent innovations in the optical segments of the telecommunication industry have gone untapped.